Happy
Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author K.A. Reynolds here to
share about her MG fantasy THE LAND OF YESTERDAY. It sounds like it has
fantastic world building and a story that will really tug at your heart.
A tender and fantastical adventure story perfect for fans of Coraline.
After Cecelia Dahl’s little brother, Celadon, dies tragically, his soul goes where all souls go: the Land of Yesterday—and Cecelia is left behind in a fractured world without him.
Her beloved house’s spirit is crumbling beyond repair, her father is imprisoned by sorrow, and worst of all, her grief-stricken mother abandons the land of the living to follow Celadon into Yesterday.
It’s up to Cecelia to put her family back together, even if that means venturing into the dark and forbidden Land of Yesterday on her own. But as Cecilia braves a hot-air balloon commanded by two gnomes, a sea of daisies, and the Planet of Nightmares, it’s clear that even if she finds her family, she might not be able to save them.
And if she’s not careful, she might just become a lost soul herself, trapped forever in Yesterday.
“Told with riveting language, this is a poignant tale that will resonate with readers of all ages and leave them reeling from such an emotional, gorgeous story.” (Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of Aru Shah and the End of Time)
“From its first words, The Land of Yesterday has the pure crystal ring of a classic, like The Little Prince or The Phantom Tollbooth—beautiful, unique, and shimmering with truth. It’s a balm for grief, and a bursting fantastical joy of a story.” (Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer)
Hi
Kristin! Thanks so much for joining us.
1. Tell us about yourself and how you
became a writer.
Hi
Natalie, thank you for having me!
I’m
an expat, born and raised in Winnipeg, MG, now living on an old farm in Maine. I
have five kids—all artists and writers—a dog, cats, mice, guinea pigs, and work
part time as a home care aid for the elderly.
The
first time I recall writing creatively was soon after my mother passed away. It
was a Shakespearean sonnet about my cat pooping on the dining room table and
how I really love cats.
*laughsforever* I read and wrote consistently through childhood and well into
adulthood to help me cope with abuse, trauma, and pain. As an adult, my poetry
had been published in several literary journals and magazines, but it wasn’t
until I’d finished having babies that I wrote my first book. Writing has always
been a huge part of me, and I can’t imagine my life without it.
2. Where did you get the idea for your
story?
After
querying four novels over almost five years and still not finding an agent, I
was ready to give
up. I’d racked up hundreds of rejections, spent so much
energy and many tears chasing this dream and had nothing left to give. I found
myself in my bedroom one day, literally forehead to floor, ugly crying my
little writer’s heart out after all hope had run dry. My dream was dead. It was
time to move on. And I swear, not a minute after accepting this fate, the
vision of a sad girl in her own bedroom came to me in full color. She had long midnight
blue hair and was crying so hard her body had begun turning into paper. I
watched as her sorrow spread out all around her until her bedroom started
papering, too. I saw Cecelia so clearly, I stopped sobbing, jumped up, ran to
the laptop and wrote her story in a great flood of words. Three weeks later, The Land of Yesterday was born.
3. Sorry that your idea came from sadness but great that it came to you so clearly. It sounds like you have created a
fantastic world with a hot-air balloon commanded by gnomes, a sea of daisies,
and a Planet of Nightmares. Share a bit about your world building process.
As a
pantser, much of my process is sitting at the laptop, clearing my mind, letting
go of fear, and writing. When the words flow, it’s like magic, really. So much
so, when I’m drafting, it feels like I’m some invisible entity’s office assistant
transcribing the story they’re whispering to me rather than creating it on my
own. But when the fancy invisible entity vanishes, and I’m left to my own
devices, I find some of my most important world building comes from metaphor.
For
example. Cecelia’s sorrow = Cecelia cries so hard her body turns into paper,
and her sorrow spreads into the world around her. Widdendream, their old
Victorian-style home, feels angry and vengeful = its features darken, grow
black mold, grow scary-sharp black vines, etc. Cecelia’s doesn’t understand why
or how her mother could leave her = Cecelia literally can’t understand the
language her teachers and neighbors, and later, the gnomes who taxi her way to
Yesterday, are speaking. Cecelia is afraid but wants to be brave = she must
visit the planet of nightmares and face her fears. I use metaphors a lot to
convey a visual path to understanding where sometimes words are not enough.
4. That's great how you use metaphors in world building. You are also a poet and your prose has
been described as beautiful. How did your poetry writing influence your writing
of this story?
When
I’m writing, I hear the beats of words like music and work them until they flow
just right. I use the cut of a line and the way paragraphs come to a page to
emphasize sound, meaning, and feeling. And I do love a good old-fashioned
swoony string of words. But poetry isn’t just about pretty words and structure.
It’s a way to explore the human experience through figurative language. To feel
and be felt. To understand and be understood. To know your heart. Oftentimes,
poetry is more about what isn’t written,
rather than what is: an invisible question passed to the reader to answer for
themselves. As to whether my background in poetry influenced The Land of Yesterday, I think it must
have. I wrote this book with my
heart; it’s the only way I know how to write.
5. Like Cecelia in your story, you have
suffered a great loss as a child. Did you draw on your own emotions in telling
Cecelia’s story?
Oh,
most definitely. Drawing from my own experience is the best tool in my writer’s
toolbox. Those emotions are evergreen, honest, real. They are sometimes very
difficult to write or talk about, to slice open those old wounds. But it’s the
sharing of these stories that connects us, brings us together, and breeds
empathy. Grief is one of those stark realities that finds us all. I wanted to
do it justice by giving it everything, so digging deep into my own grief was essential.
6. So true about grief. It sounds like your story is a real
heartbreaker as well as being a riveting story. How did you get the balance
right between the emotional growth of Cecelia and the plot-driven story that is
necessary for a fantasy story?
First
answer: I had a lot of help! I went through several revisions of this book and
it went before many eyes. My CP’s, beta readers, agent, and editor helped guide
me to where I needed to be to find the right balance. I’m the first to admit,
for me, plot takes some doing. I’m much more emotional arc oriented, but I’ve
learned how to draw on that strength to forward plot. When I draft, I listen to
that invisible entity and type away, trying not to deviate too much from the
voices in my head. When I’m finished, not all the story is there, but all the
building blocks are. I draw off either plot or emotions (whatever is lacking)
and ask myself questions to bring the hidden words to the surface. Cecelia’s
haunted house wants to kill her; if a haunted house wanted to kill me, how
would I feel? Cecelia is overcome with sadness; what’s a good metaphor for
sadness to help me further the plot: her body turning into paper. Play to your
strengths, ask yourself questions, and get as many trusted eyes on your book as
possible.
7. Your agent is Thao Le. What was your
road to obtaining an agent and book contract like?
Oy.
It was dark and beautiful and threatening, filled with jugs of wine, kindred
souls, and ghosts. But seriously, the road seemed never-ending at times. I’d
been searching for an agent for almost five years, on four different books—adult
and YA. I got very close. Won contests. Was a mentee two years in a row in Pitch
Wars, etc. I’d been told, “Your writing is so beautiful, but . . .” And, “I
love this concept, but . . .” so many times, but no agent loved them enough. Until I wrote this book. Then, I
for four R&R’s. Did them—reluctantly—and got a second R&R from Thao! She
really got my story and loved it from the beginning. The next revision for her was
smaller. I did it with a hammering heart and sent it off! She emailed not long
after and asked for a phone call!!! When Thao offered, after five years of
ridiculously early mornings and all-day writing and tears and work, the walls
of my house were thumping with joy. I got two more offers, but I knew from the
start that Thao was The One.
Thao
and I did two more small revisions I think before going on sub. But once it
went out, we had an offer in two weeks. From HarperCollins. By a dream editor. 😊 I. Was. Floored. The road was long and hard and dark, my
shoes were threadbare, and clothes torn, but when I got to the end it was all
worth it. None of those years spent writing and failing were failures. They
were school. They were learning what I needed to succeed and get to where I am
now.
8. Glad you had a happy experience once you got your agent and publisher. How are you planning to promote your
book? What advice do you have for the rest of us on developing our social
platform and marketing our first book?
I’ve
been doing giveaways, talking it up on social media, sending to book groups of
teachers and librarians to read, share, and review. I made SWAG, am doing a
pre-order giveaway, and joining other debut authors for group activities to
promote our books. I’m also hoping to do some panels and attend some cons if possible,
too.
I’ve
been on social media for years and it’s been such a great tool. Twitter
especially, but I also love Instagram. As far as advice? I’d say the best
advice I can give is reach out to other writers. Make friends. Talk about the
books you love and why. Don’t be afraid to tell your favorite authors how you
admire them or love their work. And, just have fun!
I’m
still learning about marketing, but my best advice here is: do whatever you can
do and don’t stress about what you can’t. I have a lot of limitations on this
end and I’ve had to learn to let some things go and not to beat myself up over
it. Do what you can, play to your strengths, and try to enjoy this amazing time
in your career.
9. Great advice! It might even help me get over my marketing phobia. What is something that surprised you
about being a debut author?
That
writing my contracted book two would be like trying to run a marathon on hot
lava with an elephant on my back while the sky is melting and I have to pee
really, really badly. *laughs/cries* I’d written books before, so why was this
So Hard?!? It is still something of a mystery. But from talking to my debut
group, where we have a separate group called Book 2: Trips on the Strugglebus, I
know I’m not alone.
10. What are you working on now?
A
few things.
My
second MG fantasy, THE SPINNER OF DREAMS. This fairytale-ish story revolves
around Annalise Meriwether, a girl with anxiety, panic disorder, and OCD, who
must find the courage to battle the Fate Spinner inside an enchanted labyrinth
for a chance at making her greatest dreams come true. This was a hard book to
write and took two years to finish. At times, I wanted to give up. Thought it
was trash. Thought I was a hack. That I couldn’t write it the way I envisioned
it in my head. I was anxious and panicked and stressed more than ever, because
living with mental illness and writing about it was . . . a lot. But, I wouldn’t
let myself quit. Mental illness in middle grade is rarely explored, even less
so when the main character is the one with the illness, yet it occurs more
often in real life than many might think. As a child living with these mental
illnesses, I’d have loved a book with a main character whose mind and body
worked like mine. A book filled with magic that gave no magical cure for my
mental and physical challenges, but showed me that I could still be strong, was
still brave, and that I was magical and lovable, not despite my challenges, but
because of them. But, Annalise is the sweetest character I’ve ever written. I fell
in love with her, and hope others will, too.
I’m also
drafting a secret project that is so
different from my last two but has a voice I really love and am really
excited about! And I have ¾ of another MG Fantasy written that I can’t wait to
dive back into!
Thanks for sharing all your advice,
Kristin. You can find Kristin at INSERT YOUR LINKS
Kristin has generously offered an ARC of THE LAND OF YESTERDAY for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through August 4th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. The giveaway is U.S. and Canada.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his
blog.
Here's what's coming up
(FYI I'm on my summer schedule.):
Wednesday, August 1st I have an interview with debut author Annie Sullivan and a giveaway of her YA fantasy/fairytale retelling A TOUCH OF GOLD and my IWSG Post
Tuesday, August 14th I'm participating in the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop
Monday, August 20th, I have an interview with debut author Brigit Young and a giveaway of her MG contemporary mystery WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Hope to see you on Wednesday, August 1st!
